A simple change to how someone with arthritis in their knees walks could delay the need for surgery.
US researchers have discovered that the change was as effective as over-the-counter painkillers in relieving symptoms of osteoarthritis, the most common form of the condition in Britain.
The study shows patients should walk with their feet angled slightly inward or outward from their natural alignment to gain the benefits.
Scientists from New York University, the University of Utah and Stanford University tested 68 men and women with mild to moderate knee osteoarthritis. Half were trained in six sessions to walk with their feet angled – between five to ten degrees inwards or outwards – while the other half were told to continue walking naturally.
The results, published in The Lancet last week, showed that the group who changed how they walked reported half as much pain as the other group.
The walking style lessened pressure in the knee by up to four per cent. The researchers say it is the first study to show that walking technique can help manage osteoarthritis symptoms.
Around ten million people in the UK have osteoarthritis, where the protective cartilage in a joint breaks down, leaving bone rubbing on bone and causing pain and problems moving.
It is estimated that just over half of those patients have it in their knee – with 100,000 a year having a knee replacement operation on the NHS.
US researchers have discovered that the change was as effective as over-the-counter painkillers in relieving symptoms of osteoarthritis
Experts say teaching the new walking technique could delay a number of these surgeries.
The authors note that the earlier patients receive a replacement knee, the more likely they are to need future procedures.
‘Although our results have to be confirmed in future studies, they raise the possibility that the new, non-invasive treatment could help delay surgery,’ said study co-lead author Dr Valentina Mazzoli, professor of radiology at New York University.
‘These results highlight the importance of personalising treatment instead of a one-size-fits-all approach to osteoarthritis.’
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